Avoid “low fat” foods. Because you aren’t eating many carbs, you need to ensure you are eating enough fat so that you have plenty of energy and to prevent your metabolism slowing down as your body thinks it is starving due to a low caloric intake (this inhibits weight loss and makes you feel off color). This means leaving the skin on chicken, and not cooking your meat on a fat reducing grill or similar. Feel free to use butter and oil in cooking, and ensure you buy full fat cheese and mayonnaise. In the low fat alternatives, the fat is often replaced by carbs.
I am excited to try your 3 day kick start and then get into the rest of your menus! The pancakes sound really yummy. How many did you intend for us to each for each of the “breakfasts”. You didn’t indicate a number. Though the recipe says it yields 4 cakes and 1 is a serving. So should I just have 1. I want to make sure I am no going over my 20 carbs. Thanks!

[…] Your 3 Day Keto Kickstart and Menu Plan – I Breathe… I’m … – I am starting your 3 day kick start menu today (again) and was wondering, how do you calculate the carbs in sugar free syrup … I am excited to try your version of the keto diet! My husband started this last year and lost a bunch of weight. I then joined him and lost a bunch of weight too … […]

You may also be a great candidate for the Keto diet if you experience migraines, joint pain, muscle weakness or mental fatigue. In addition, "Keto diet can be beneficial for mental health conditions like depression, autism and Alzheimer's". Other than that, "you can also follow this diet plan if you're trying to get pregnant since it improves fertility", she notes.

I get many questions about intermittent fasting, the health benefits, the weight loss benefits, and the like. People normally use intermittent fasting for both the energy and mental clarity it can offer. But it’s not just good for that. It can offer breakthroughs of plateaus and even benefits in nutrient uptake in exercise. We go more in depth to intermittent fasting in Week 3 and 4, so keep your eyes peeled!

This week we’re getting stricter with our fasting. We had a full week of intermittent fasting and now we’re going to skip breakfast and lunch. Water is our BEST friend here! Don’t forget that you can drink coffee, tea, flavored water, and the like to get your liquids in. Keep drinking to make sure you’re not thinking about your stomach. It MIGHT start growling, just ignore it – your body will adjust with time.

People use a ketogenic diet most often to lose weight, but it can help manage certain medical conditions, like epilepsy, too. It also may help people with heart disease, certain brain diseases, and even acne, but there needs to be more research in those areas. Talk with your doctor first to find out if it’s safe for you to try a ketogenic diet, especially if you have type 1 diabetes.
Achieving ketosis is a pretty straightforward, but it can seem complicated and confusing with all of the information out there.4If you want to learn more about ketosis and the scientific process around it, you can visit a very in-depth discussion about on Dr. Peter Attia’s website. Here’s the bottom line on what you need to do, ordered in levels of importance:
These affect your brain and spine, as well as the nerves that link them together. Epilepsy is one, but others may be helped by a ketogenic diet as well, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and sleep disorders. Scientists aren’t sure why, but it may be that the ketones your body makes when it breaks down fat for energy help protect your brain cells from damage.
"Plenty of people jump right in, thinking all they have to do is cut carbs and increase fat. All of a sudden, they hit a wall and get 'keto flu.' They feel tired, lethargic, and experience headaches," Wittrock says. "The primary reason they get these symptoms is lack of the three primary electrolytes: sodium, potassium, and magnesium. If you're deficient in any of these, you'll suffer mentally and physically. This is the single biggest reason people fail on the keto diet."

This morning I calculated my keto and signed up on my fitness pal food calculator as you suggested on your website. More I read about keto more curious I get…. Last two days I ate without thinking much about portions, but today I used all your delicious recipes and made combination of meals for the day and followed my macro numbers to almost exact numbers and grams. Which meant less snacks in-between meals in my case. I also have been drinking around 120oz of water( including coffee and herbal mint tea) everyday! Can’t wait to see what happens at tomorrow morning weigh in!

The modified Atkins diet reduces seizure frequency by more than 50% in 43% of patients who try it and by more than 90% in 27% of patients.[3] Few adverse effects have been reported, though cholesterol is increased and the diet has not been studied long term.[47] Although based on a smaller data set (126 adults and children from 11 studies over five centres), these results from 2009 compare favourably with the traditional ketogenic diet.[3]
It sounds like you have used ground/mince beef that was too fatty and the fat has rendered out into the casserole. I tend to avoid low fat beef as we want plenty of healthy fat to keep us fuller for longer and all the benefits that come from a high fat diet, but I also avoid the highest fat beef as too much fat comes out in the cooking process for a dish such as this one.
So happy I found your site, out of all the keto sites I’ve clicked on yours is the best!! You actually give us a plan to get started and I love your humor :) I’ve tried living keto before but it was the diet along with a lot of supplements and nasty shakes…it wasn’t for me! I don’t like drinking my snacks and meals just to get into ketosis! Looking forward to trying this again and trying your recipes!
The keto diet (also known as ketogenic diet, low carb diet and LCHF diet) is a low carbohydrate, high fat diet. Maintaining this diet is a great tool for weight loss. More importantly though, according to an increasing number of studies, it helps reduce risk factors for diabetes, heart diseases, stroke, Alzheimer’s, epilepsy, and more1-6.On the keto diet, your body enters a metabolic state called ketosis. While in ketosis your body is using ketone bodies for energy instead of glucose. Ketone bodies are derived from fat and are a much more stable, steady source of energy than glucose, which is derived from carbohydrates.

It feels like everyone is talking about the keto diet — the high-fat, low-carb eating plan that promises to turn your body into a fat-burning machine. For that reason, keto has surged in popularity over the past year as a lose-weight-fast strategy. Thank Hollywood A-listers and professional athletes like Halle Berry, Adriana Lima, and Tim Tebow who’ve publicly touted the diet’s benefits, from shedding weight to slowing down aging. Here’s everything you need to know about going keto — and how to do it the Bulletproof way.

Ketogenic diets are, however, a well-established way to help control Type 2 diabetes, and the plan has for nearly 100 years been used to reduce instances of childhood epileptic seizures. Some scientists also think the high-fat diet may hold promise for staving off Alzheimer's, and there are some early indications it might help improve certain cancer treatment outcomes when used in conjunction with drugs. (Harper is part of a research team investigating how the diet might help boost treatment among people with breast cancer.)
Avoid “low fat” foods. Because you aren’t eating many carbs, you need to ensure you are eating enough fat so that you have plenty of energy and to prevent your metabolism slowing down as your body thinks it is starving due to a low caloric intake (this inhibits weight loss and makes you feel off color). This means leaving the skin on chicken, and not cooking your meat on a fat reducing grill or similar. Feel free to use butter and oil in cooking, and ensure you buy full fat cheese and mayonnaise. In the low fat alternatives, the fat is often replaced by carbs.

About 20% of children on the ketogenic diet achieve freedom from seizures, and many are able to reduce the use of anticonvulsant drugs or eliminate them altogether.[3] Commonly, at around two years on the diet, or after six months of being seizure-free, the diet may be gradually discontinued over two or three months. This is done by lowering the ketogenic ratio until urinary ketosis is no longer detected, and then lifting all calorie restrictions.[45] This timing and method of discontinuation mimics that of anticonvulsant drug therapy in children, where the child has become seizure free. When the diet is required to treat certain metabolic diseases, the duration will be longer. The total diet duration is up to the treating ketogenic diet team and parents; durations up to 12 years have been studied and found beneficial.[9]

When you eat foods high in carbohydrates and fat, your body naturally produces glucose. Carbohydrates are the easiest thing for the body to process, and therefore it will use them first – resulting in the excess fats to be stored immediately. In turn, this causes weight gain and health problems that are associated with high fat, high carbohydrate diets (NOT keto).
Made this for the first time tonight, excellent! I read the comments before I started so I knew to beat the eggs well and drain the beef. Thank you to everyone who commented! I didn’t use pickles, instead I put a few dots of sweet relish on top of the beef/bacon layer then spread them out a bit. Not so keto friendly but there isn’t much in a portion and it’s much quicker than dealing with pickles. Hubby asked me what I thought of it as he went for seconds. I quite enjoyed this and he did too! I had much more beef than called for, I used all 3 eggs and beat them well before the whipping cream and yellow mustard went in.There was no eggy taste. I will definitely make this again!
I have read all the info on the sight but I am still having trouble understanding how to get the amount of protein, carbs and fats. I get keeping my carbs under 20 grams a day but not trying to determine the rest. Not sure what I am missing or I just don’t get it. If you can give any help it would really be appreciated. Thanks your site is wonderful !!
You rock! Thank you for this, and would love a 7 day menu plan, plus a shopping list. I’m no good at that kind of organization – heck, I’m no good at ANY kind of organization – so a shopping list would be a life saver. I’m sure I could get that from a friend who introduced me to your blog and who is going to do this with you, and I with all of you . Thank you so much!
Thank you, thank you, thank you! Thank you for taking the guesswork out of putting a plan together. Thank you for putting in the time, your dedication and commitment helping people you don’t even know. I get overwhelmed putting a plan together. What I think is healthy is not! I am starting the 3 day kickstart this week. I am putting my shopping list together. While doing so, I find myself asking- are these ingredients enough for 1 person or more? Should I increase the quantity of items to feed the family? I have a family of 5 and we all need to eat healthier. More specifically, my husband and I will be doing Keto. The kids (14, 18 & 20’year olds) will most likely do the dinners and snacks. Thank you for your help with this. Sorry in advance if you already answered these questions. I went through other comments and didn’t notice if it had been addressed. Thanks again!
Carol- so sorry to hear about your stroke. I am not sure most doctors would approve of this diet due to most not being taught much on nutrition in med school, and most still believe in the old school high carb low fat way of eating. My experience has been a dramatic drop in my blood pressure in only a few weeks after starting this diet (172/105 down to 144/95!). I suggest giving it a trial of a few months to see how it may work for you.
There are vegetables that are high in carbs and others low in carbs. The keto diet recommends sticking to the ones low on carbs but encourages you to eat a lot of them. Best vegetables are all green ones to make it easy. And vegetables that grow above the ground (e.g. lettuce) are always better than the ones that grow below the ground (e.g. potatoes)
Make things yourself. While it’s extremely convenient to buy most things pre-made or pre-cooked, it always adds to the price per pound on items. Try prepping veggies ahead of time instead of buying pre-cut ones. Try making your stew meat from a chuck roast. Or, simply try to make your mayo and salad dressings at home. The simplest of things can work to cut down on your overall grocery shopping.
8. All brands are not created equal. Sometimes (but not always) you have to pony up for the name brand over the generic because the carbs are less – this is generally true with cream cheese for example. When buying heavy cream, go organic if you can find it because some brands use thickeners that add carbs. Buy your cheese in blocks or slices rather than in shreds – the shredded cheese is coated with food starch to avoid clumping and that adds carbs.
Keeping your tastebuds entertained while following a keto diet does not have to be a struggle. Some low-carb, high-fat dieters find that they have the most success with their diet when they eat consistent meals on a regular basis and do not deviate from their plan. Others find that if their diet has too much repetition it will get boring and difficult to stick to. Whether you choose to stick to a set of staple meals that you eat every week or you’d rather spice things up, there are plenty of amazing food choices on the ketogenic diet.
Hi Kelly, All packaged foods will have a nutrition label that list the macros per serving, including fat, protein and cabrohydrates. Net carbs, which is what most people look at for low carb and keto, are total carbs (the amount on the label) minus fiber and sugar alcohols, as explained in the article above. I have a low carb food list here that gives you a full list of all the foods you can eat, and the net carbs in each. You can also sign up above to be notified about the meal plans, which are a great way to get started.
When you said the following my inhibitions dropped to zero. Probably because I just could not stop laughing, and the reality at the base of your putting it this way -“Don’t obsessively plan everything and overwhelm yourself so it feels harder than it has to. This may be controversial for some, but I’m here to tell you not to worry about calories, or nitrates, or Omega 3 vs Omega 6, or if the meat you’re eating skipped about on acres of lush pastureland, while being hand fed organic vegan feed by the tiny perfect hands of 1000 virgin milkmaids.”

I’m thinking about trying Keto for the very first time in order to help my hormone levels and lose some weight. As I scrolled through your menu plan, I clicked on some recipes. I noticed that they included fruits/veggies that weren’t included in the menu. For example, there are strawberries with your cream cheese pancakes and chocolate mousse. There is also red pepper with the chilli and lettuce with another item (maybe the chilli or the tuna?) Are these items calculated in the carb count for the plan? I have NO CLUE how to calculate net carbs or even calculate carbs using fresh fruits/veggies. Are there any fresh fruits/veggies that are freebies like lettuce or cucumbers? I really don’t want to botch this and feel even worse or lengthen the keto flu. Finally, do I need to factor in vitamins that I’m taking (Magnesium, B complex, and D3? Do they have any carbs that I wouldn’t expect? TIA for any insight you can provide.

You’ll just have to search for some recipes that are low carb and dairy free! Week 5 of my keto menu plans is mostly dairy free and easily made completely dairy free. I have also started a pinterest board where I’m collecting low carb recipes that are also dairy free and I’ll be working on adding more recipes to that. You might also try searching for Paleo recipes, many of them are dairy free and can easily be made low carb as well! Hope that helps!
You’re transitioning. Your body is equipped to process a high intake of carbs and a lower intake of fat. Your body needs to create enzymes to be able to do this. In the transitional period, the brain may run low on energy which can lead to grogginess, nausea, and headaches. If you’re having a large problem with this, you can choose to reduce carb intake gradually.
It is very interesting to read about the keto/low card diet.I love to change my lifestyle as I an TYPE 2 Diabetic.I subscribed for a free printable low carb meal .The initial email stated that that I will receive an email for instructions to access the members area .Your free download will be there.However it is very deceiving ,I never got the 2nd email with instructions which is frustrating and not good .Hopefully this is not a way to get us to pay to get the printable version.

Fairly recently, the diet was introduced as a weight-loss diet by an Italian professor of surgery, Dr. Gianfranco Cappello of Sapienza University in Rome. In his 2012 study, about 19,000 dieters received a high-fat liquid diet via a feeding tube inserted down the nose. The study showed an average weight loss of more than 20 pounds in participants, most of whom kept it off for at least a year. The researchers reported a few minor side effects, like fatigue.